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Codex of Military Juristic Articles
Codex of Military Juristic Articles The Codex of Military Juristic Articles details the legal system of the United Citizen's Federation's protocol and doctrine; and also lists all the standing (or permanent) laws set out by commanding officers. There are four tiers of law in the Federal military; *Global: These are laws either enacted by the Sky Marshall or the Federal Council in Geneva. These laws apply to all Federal subjects; whether they are civilians, citizens, serving NCOs or even high-ranking COs. *Admiralty Law: The Admiralty hold the right to enact laws (that may be suspended, reviewed or countermanded by the SM and etc.) with their scope of control (ie. their fleets). This also applies to General's; however the Admiralty hold far greater power given that their bounds are often much greater (ie. several lightyears or space) whereas a General might hold authority over a planet or system at most. *Captain's Law: The ship belongs to the Captain - who commands the respect of all aboard it. The Captain can make laws at his discretion (which technically cannot be overturned by the admiralty - they would have to remove and replace the Captain) and they apply to all aboard the ship. *Standing orders: The standing order of any superior commissioned officer of the Federation is effectively law - an example of such is that if Captain Wolf orders that you not consume any drink, and you disobey him, you are effectively breaking law and are at the mercy of the judicial system. The only occasion in which any law may be broken is if they themselves break or require you to break a more senior law, or if a personal waiver is granted. Tribunals and the Judicial System A tribunal is a military court; comprised of commissioned officers (of varying seniority depending on the type of tribunal) whom assume the role as judges. However there are also alternatives... *General court-martial: Reserved only for the most serious crimes; a general court-martial comprises of a panel of senior OC-3 (Maj/Cdr)+ officers, a defence counsel and a prosecution. The most severe punishment it can hand out is death. Examples of such crimes that would be considered worthy of a general court-martial: **Treason **Murder **Attempted murder **Inflicting grievous harm *Summary hearing: The majority of cases are "summary hearings"; comprised of two commissioned officers of any rank. Typically they are very, very swift, to the point, and somewhat informal; often concluded in under five minutes (example). The maximum sentence a summary hearing can hand out is 10 lashes. A few examples of crimes that a summary hearing might hear are: **Assault **Theft **Mild insubordination **Minor assault against a non-commissioned officer *Non-judicial punishment (NJP): non-judicial punishment requires no formal proceedings at all - the officer presumes guilt and assigns a minor punishment. However, the defendant may still demand a summary trial - in which case if still found guilty they may be required to assign a heftier punishment (such as lashes). The maximum NJP that can be handed out is twelve hour's in the brig (30 minutes IC), confinement to their quarters, ban from alcohol, forced to eat bread and water, and other minor infringements on their freedom. Examples of where it may be used: **Failing to salute a commissioned officer **Disrespecting a superior, up to the rank of a junior commissioned officer.